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PLAN Naval Aviation and Marine Corp Training Cycles

Naval Aviation Training Cycle

The enlisted force conscription and demobilization cycles do not impact Naval Aviation as much as they do the surface and submarine forces. However, the addition of new pilots from the transition training base during June, along with weather and holidays, does affect Naval Aviation's annual training cycle. Naval Aviation assigns monthly percentage quotas to each unit for completion of training subjects and flight time. Each month averages about 8% of the annual quota, with most units completing their quotas in early December.

Each unit reviews its quotas on a quarterly basis and adjusts the training accordingly. Although flying takes place in late December, early January, and during Spring Festival, the overall level is less than the rest of the year. Naval Aviation takes the opportunity during late December, Spring Festival, and at least once in the summer to conduct intensive maintenance inspections on all of its aircraft before heavy flight activity resumes.

Under the old OMTE, most Naval Aviation units usually elected to fly only on days when the weather was good. Even then, they flew only easy training subjects during the first part of the year and gradually increased the difficulty as weather got better and the training cycle progressed. However, under the new OMTE, Naval Aviation has increased the intensity and difficulty of training throughout each quarter of the year regardless of the weather conditions.

In addition, the transition from technical training, which usually took place during the early part of the year, to more complicated tactics training has been shortened by two to three months. Whereas the reluctance or technical inability to fly during bad weather conditions previously necessitated waiting for spring to begin the transition, Naval Aviation units are increasingly training in all weather conditions and relying on simulators to overcome this bottleneck.

Marine Corps Training Cycle

The annual cycle for conscription and NCO demobilization is an important driving factor for the Marine Corps training cycle. Although some unit training occurs from 1 November through February, the majority of the training occurs during the summer and fall after the new conscripts have completed their basic training and have been gradually integrated into the operational brigades.

Once the new conscripts are assigned to their permanent units, the training cycle progresses from individual training to small-unit training to larger-unit training, and from technical to tactics training events. The Marine Corps conducts two comprehensive training evaluations per year. The first one occurs in early June and the second in late November. These evaluations include live maneuver on shore and at sea, as well as live firing on shore, defense at-sea, and landing assaults on beaches under different weather and sea conditions.